Expectations of Summer Interns

Summer interns are a great win-win for many churches. The intern receives valuable training, while the church is blessed with more help. Here's some valuable information from Joshua Griffin about expectations you should have of summer interns. These can be applied to a number of people, other than simply interns. I'll have some more for you tomorrow.

1. Know what is on your calendar before you come in for the day.
We live and die by our calendars in the office. Nothing throws you off more than forgetting about a meeting. Also, summer events don’t always allow you to run home and change. Outlook is a super important tool we really value in our culture.

2. Expect to be at all HSM events.
We do a lot of “all hands on deck” type of events. If you’re not sure, ASK, but the answer is probably yes.

3. Have a good attitude.
Your attitude is contagious! If you don’t have a good attitude, it can hurt the team. Be sure to take time for yourself to read, relax and refresh.

4. Know what is expected of you on the weekend.
Be on time - help set up - greet volunteers - jump in where needed - sit with students during the service - please don’t stand in the back!

5. You are responsible for your emails, voicemails, and texts.
One of the biggest complaints about our church is the lack of response to a phone call. So check your messages often and return them in a timely manner – no more than 24 hours late is the goal. Make sure take care of Pastoral Care issues immediately!

6. Communicate where you are going and when you will be back.
There is no such thing as over communicating and don’t ever assume someone knows where you are. Keep JG in the loop at all times. OK, you can go to the bathroom without telling him, we guess.

7. NEVER say “I don’t know” - ALWAYS say “Let me find out”.
Try and know the basics about every event on the calendar (location, price, times) and walk with the student or parent to get the information rather then sending them to find it. Also, make sure you listen to the person that did have the answer - then next time you won’t have to ask.

8. Know that everything can change at ANY moment.
We know this one is hard - you just have to go with it. There will be things you work on that don’t get used - hold everything with a loose grip.

9. Ask questions.
A lot of them. Why we do things? How we do things? What if we did things a different way? Even if it is to confirm what you already know… please ask questions!